Word List #3 and exercise
asphyxiate
cornucopia
desist
effeminate
empathy
evanescent
frieze
indite
itinerary
lien
maxim
motif
palfrey
phalanx
svelte
tertiary
trenchant
A. Circle or underline the sentence that uses the word incorrectly.
1. A) The woman in the garage was asphyxiated by the carbon monoxide fumes from the car.
B) A baby putting its head into a plastic can easily asphyxiate itself. C) The navigator could asphyxiate the ship’s position by checking the stars.
2. A) A cornucopia, or tam’s horn filled to overflowing with things to eat, makes a fine decorative piece. B) The settlers planted cornucopia in the land they cleared. C) Car lovers regard Detroit as a veritable cornucopia of glittering automobiles.
3. A) She promised to desist from meddling in the affairs of others. B) His hand shook so much as he tried to shave that he was forced to desist. c) The brakes are worn out and can barely desist the carriage even when they are completely engaged.
4. A) Criticizing him for having an effeminate manner is quite narrow-minded of you. B) A French noun can be masculine, effeminate, or neuter. C) His effeminate manner seemed to antagonize some people.
5. A) Most parents feel a deep empathy with their babies. B) The printed page creates an empathy between the author and the reader. C) This novelist, by her skillful portrayal of character, helps us feel empathy with people we ordinarily might dislike. d) They received many expressions of empathy when their father died.
6. A) The sun’s warmth soon scattered the evanescent wisps of mist on the mountain. B) Her moods of depression are evanescent, and she is soon laughing again. C) In the evanescent landscapes of Turner, English painting reached its peak. D) They grew more and more evanescent as they got older, preferring to be completely alone.)
7. A) A frieze decorated the walls of the villa. B) The frieze, carved with great delicacy, shows various hunting and woodland scenes. C) The artist has tried to frieze the figures in the design into everyday attitudes.
8. A) Challenged to compose a poem on the spur of the moment, Keats indited the lovely sonnet beginning “The poetry of earth is never dead.” B) Picking up a pen, she commenced to indite a letter to her friend. C) After being indited for murder, the prisoner was led back to the cell.
9. A) We made a careful itinerary of everything we might need. B) The queen’s itinerary for her round-the-world trip was released today. C) Our itinerary takes up through the Canadian Rockies and into Idaho and Oregon.
10. A) The bank has a lien on the property because of the money owed it by the owner. B) She took out a lien on her house for five thousand dollars. C) You cannot sell your car if your creditor has a lien on it.
11. A) “Better late than never” is a maxim that should be applied with caution. B) Each of the fables of Aesop illustrates a maxim for our guidance. C) They hope to maxim their profits by cutting costs and raising prices.
12. A) Throughout the novel runs the motif of the son seeking his father. B) This simple four-note motif runs through the entire symphony. C) The material was decorated with a tasteful leaf motif. D) No motif for the crime has been discovered by the police.
13. A) The young girl, mounted on a gray palfrey, made her way through the forest. B) The horses were taught to palfrey proudly through the forest. C) The queen rode a spirited charger while the king was mounted on a docile palfrey.
14. A) The emperor wore a phalanx of sold gold across his breast. B) The soldiers of Phillip of Macedon were organized into phalanxes eight rows deep. C) The police officers formed a solid phalanx and charged in through the door.
15. A) After losing 25 extra pounds, he looked very svelte in his new clothes. B) Her svelte manner impressed many people at the meeting. C) It grew so svelte in the room that we opened all the windows.
16. A) Her first two attempts failed, but her tertiary attempt succeeded. B) Two primary colors make a secondary color; two secondary colors make a tertiary color. C) A tertiary layer is sometimes put on over the primary and secondary layers.
17. A) Her trenchant criticism of the government aroused the wrath of those in office. B) He has an overpowering trenchant for fruit and eats some with every meal. C). She has a trenchant wit that penetrates like a sharp blade.